Chapter Summaries

Li Mo learned that Yin Mianmian had disguised herself to approach Ouyang and suspected she had come looking for him. He, Ying Bing, and Jiang Chulong headed to Cloud-Crossing Sword City for the Dao lecture, where a woman in a pavilion offered to tell their fortunes.

• Ying Bing shut her door after sensing Li Mo's wandering thoughts about massage and Phoenix Singing in the Heavenly Marsh.
• Shen Yunfei told Li Mo that Ouyang had fallen for a woman who admired his paintings, then asked him to draw her with Jiang Chen; the woman had been disguised Yin Mianmian.
• Li Mo used the Heavenly Mandate Divine Eye and learned that Yin Mianmian had bewitched Ouyang, then heard that Elders Qian and Xue were on their way.
• Li Mo, Ying Bing, and Jiang Chulong set out for Cloud-Crossing Sword City, where a woman in a solitary pavilion offered to tell their fortunes.

Li Mo met Tian Miao, a Heaven Derivation Sect Walker searching for Yinghuo, while she tried to read his fortune and found that he brought extraordinary prosperity to his wife. After confirming that Li Mo was the Chaos Star Yinghuo, Tian Miao reported her discovery to her sect as the new Hidden Dragon Ranking approached.

• Li Mo, Ying Bing, and Jiang Chulong visited a fortune-teller’s pavilion and met Tian Miao, who examined Li Mo’s palm.
• Li Mo’s Heavenly Mandate Divine Eye revealed that Tian Miao was a Heaven Derivation Sect Walker sent to find Yinghuo and that she had only borrowed the fortune-teller’s stall that morning.
• Tian Miao gave Li Mo a grim reading, then said his special strength was bringing prosperity to his wife, even to the point of helping her don the yellow robe.
• Li Mo reassured Jiang Chulong about the meaning of donning the yellow robe, while Ying Bing reflected on the fortune-teller’s claim.
• Tian Miao used her Heavenly Evolution Divine Calculation to inspect Li Mo and staggered from the effort before reporting that she had found Chaos Star Yinghuo.

Li Mo’s attempt to trace the Spirit Stone was interrupted when Wei Zhaoliu discovered its sword mark had become a hammer, shaking her Dao Heart. He soothed her with his strengthened Will Soul, but she then asked who had changed the stone.

• Li Mo entered the cave behind the waterfall and tried to paint the Spirit Stone, while Wei Zhaoliu studied it outside.
• Li Mo’s painting reached eight-tenths similarity, but he could not yet capture the Spirit Stone’s Upper Form.
• Wei Zhaoliu failed to sense the sword mark, then flipped the Spirit Stone over and saw that the mark had turned into a hammer.
• Wei Zhaoliu’s Dao Heart faltered and her Sword Qi erupted, so Li Mo used his Will Soul to calm her and received thirty years of martial arts insight.
• After recovering, Wei Zhaoliu asked Li Mo who had changed the Spirit Stone.

Li Mo helped Wei Zhaoliu recover from despair over the Sword Mark Stone, then accompanied Jiang Chulong as she unearthed damaged swords around the Sword Pool and paid Elder Zeng to strengthen its sword-nurturing array. Three days later, the Clear Abyss Sect gathered for the new Hidden Dragon Ranking announcement, and Shen Yunfei noticed Li Mo and Ying Bing seemed stronger.

• Li Mo soothed Wei Zhaoliu after she despaired over the sword mark he had left on the Sword Mark Stone.
• Li Mo found Jiang Chulong collecting buried broken swords near the Sword Pool while Ying Bing lectured on the Dao.
• Elder Zeng explained that the swords were part of his Sword-Nurturing Array, and Li Mo paid to strengthen the array so Jiang Chulong could keep them.
• Li Mo gained a hundred years of martial insight from investing in the Gold-Stone Hidden Sword Array and continued cultivating the Eight Treasures Gold-Devouring Art.
• Three days later, the Clear Abyss Sect gathered before the Hidden Dragon Ranking announcement, and Shen Yunfei noticed that Li Mo and Ying Bing seemed to have grown stronger.

Li Mo and his companions reached Dragon Gate Lake for the Hidden Dragon Ranking, and Li Mo bought the tavern when its owner said it was reserved. As the ranking ceremony approached, the wealthy guests who had booked the place arrived, and their familiar-sounding leader demanded an explanation.

• Li Mo watched Ying Bing learn unfamiliar sword techniques on the spot and learned that Jiang Chulong was gaining sword insights from the broken swords he had collected for her.
• Li Mo and the Clear Abyss Sect disciples arrived at Dragon Gate Lake and chose a tavern overlooking the Dragon Gate, but the shopkeeper said wealthy guests from the Eastern Wasteland Domain had reserved it.
• Li Mo bought the tavern with banknotes and took the best viewing area with Ying Bing and Jiang Chulong as they discussed the Hidden Dragon Ranking.
• Ying Bing recalled that Tian Miao, the contemporary Heaven Derivation Sect Walker, had read Li Mo's fortune, and wondered whether the ranking might align with the system's ranking in four days.
• The waiter told Li Mo that the original guests had arrived and were demanding an explanation, just as a familiar-sounding old woman complained about the locals stealing her reserved seats.

Li Mo and the Clear Abyss Sect elders watched the Dragon Gate reveal the Hidden Dragon Ranking, beginning with Huang Donglai in one hundredth place. As the list advanced, Li Mo realized it might eventually expose his strength and bring the feared collapse of his house after all.

• Shang Wu, Qian Bufan, Xue Jing, and Tang Xiaobao reunited with Li Mo at the restaurant and explained they had traveled from Purple Sun Prefecture to support the disciples.
• The Dragon Gate formed a glowing screen over Fish-Dragon Lake, and the crowd gathered to see the ranking.
• The ranking named Huang Donglai one hundredth, detailing his resilient martial arts, record, and title, Flying Poison Two-Faced Turtle.
• Li Mo described his encounter with Huang Donglai, while Xue Jing questioned him about what he had comprehended from the sword marks in Cloud-Crossing Sword City.
• Li Mo joked that people in the city called him the Sword Immortal, and Shang Wu accepted the title after learning he had taken over a restaurant.
• Li Mo realized the ranking might reveal his greatest strength, and the Dragon Gate had reached eighty-fifth place.

Li Mo and his companions discussed the Hidden Dragon Ranking before the assassin Xu Yi attacked him while disguised as a waiter. After Shang Wu and Ouyang subdued Xu Yi, Li Mo restored his clarity and prepared to question him about the assassination.

• Li Mo and his companions discussed Zhong Zhenyue's ranking and learned that Xu Yi, the Mad Sword Human Butcher, had risen to eighty-third.
• Ouyang recounted rumors that Xu Yi had killed both his employer Zou Gong and his target Luo Wubing, while the waiter offered a different explanation for Xu Yi's confused actions.
• The waiter revealed himself as Xu Yi and attacked Li Mo with a concealed strike.
• Shang Wu caught Xu Yi, and Ouyang tied him up before he could harm Li Mo.
• Li Mo used a moonlit radiance to restore Xu Yi's clarity, then threatened to hand him to Shang Wu unless he explained himself; Xu Yi agreed to talk.

Li Mo and his companions learned that Drizzle Pavilion had sent assassins to warn him, then watched the Hidden Dragon Ranking reveal Li Mo at nineteenth place with the embarrassing title “Wife-Prospering Fighting Soul.” The chapter ended as Dragon Gate announced Ying Bing in eighteenth place.

• Xu Yi admitted that Yin Mianmian had hired him to warn Li Mo that Drizzle Pavilion pursued anyone who left, and Shang Wu said she would fight even a Dharma Body inside Clear Abyss Sect.
• Li Mo offered Xu Yi money for Drizzle Pavilion’s Yun Province Black Tower location, and Xu Yi revealed its secrets and offered to guide them.
• Jiang Chulong confirmed she had kept watching the Hidden Dragon Ranking while the others dealt with Xu Yi, and the list continued naming prodigies.
• Dragon Gate ranked Li Mo nineteenth, citing his battles and martial skills and giving him the titles “Dugu Strange Sword” and “Wife-Prospering Fighting Soul.”
• Li Mo realized Tian Miao had likely inspired the strange title, and Dragon Gate announced Ying Bing at eighteenth place.

The Hidden Dragon Ranking revealed Ying Bing’s extraordinary talent and placed Jiang Yu first, prompting Li Mo and Ying Bing to joke about their nicknames before making a pact not to use them. Jiang Chulong recognized the Crown Prince of Great Yu on the ranking and was left shaken by her connection to him.

• The crowd at Fish-Dragon Lake reacted to Ying Bing’s eighteenth-place ranking and praised her martial talent and achievements.
• Tian Miao reflected on Heaven Derivation Sect’s incomplete information about Li Mo, while Elder Xu thanked her for preserving the Sword Tower’s sword character.
• At the pleasure boat, Yin Mianmian learned Xu Yi had not reported back and ordered the bounty raised tenfold.
• Li Mo teased Ying Bing about her ranking nicknames, and they agreed not to call each other by nicknames.
• Jiang Chulong saw Jiang Yu ranked first on the Hidden Dragon Ranking and struggled to hide her distress.
• Ying Bing told Li Mo that Jiang Yu was the Crown Prince of Great Yu and one of Jiang Chulong’s deepest nightmares.

Jiang Chulong cheered up after Li Mo and Ouyang gave her a moving picture book, while Ying Bing prepared for the next Hidden Dragon Ranking comparison. Li Mo then visited Xue Jing to ask about the External Pill Method, reviving the elder’s bad memories.

• Shang Wu urged Li Mo to challenge Jiang Yu and avenge her if he could, and Li Mo comforted the tearful Jiang Chulong with a picture book he made with Ouyang.
• Jiang Chulong watched the pictures move, laughed through her tears, and went to cook with Li Mo.
• The group settled into the wine house, where Ying Bing reflected on Jiang Yu and the coming ranking comparison before beginning her Divine Observation.
• Li Mo visited Xue Jing while he refined pills, hoping to obtain four Profound Pills so he could use the first form of his divine art.
• Li Mo told Xue Jing he wanted to discuss the External Pill Method, and Xue Jing’s smile vanished.

Li Mo told Xue Jing he planned to add four more Profound Pills to his dantian, and demonstrated that he could already contain three alongside Tang Xiaobao. After Xue Jing tested Li Mo’s talent and studied the Supreme Clarity Golden Liquid Divine Pill Scripture, they began refining another pill, leaving its embryonic form slowly developing into a Profound Pill.

• Li Mo clarified that he wanted to condense four additional Profound Pills rather than shatter his existing pill, and Xue Jing was alarmed by the plan.
• Li Mo revealed that his dantian could hold three different Profound Pills, and Tang Xiaobao joined them as a Dragon-Tiger Golden Pill.
• Xue Jing doubted Li Mo’s claim that he could learn several mental arts in a day, then watched him master two superior mental arts in the time it took to drink tea.
• Li Mo showed Xue Jing the Supreme Clarity Golden Liquid Divine Pill Scripture and explained how Tang Xiaobao could help him refine another Profound Pill.
• Xue Jing opened the furnace, and Li Mo and Tang Xiaobao used the scripture’s method to form a pill embryo whose veins began to develop.

Li Mo completed the fourth Profound Pill with Tang Xiaobao's help, then revealed he had succeeded after teasing Xue Jing. Meanwhile, Xu Yi escaped into the night but was knocked unconscious by the Dragon-Tiger Pill Furnace's flying lid, and Jiang Chulong dragged him back toward the tavern.

• Li Mo and Tang Xiaobao endured the furnace's rising heat as Xue Jing added the final ingredients, and the Dragon-Tiger Pill Furnace's lid blasted into the sky.
• Li Mo emerged and pretended the pill had failed, but Tang Xiaobao revealed he had seen Li Mo swallow it, confirming the fourth Profound Pill was complete.
• Xue Jing chased Li Mo around the courtyard, while Tang Xiaobao noticed the furnace lid had disappeared again.
• Xu Yi escaped after undoing his bindings and concealing himself, intending to report to Yin Mianmian before returning to the tavern.
• The flying furnace lid struck Xu Yi and knocked him out, and Jiang Chulong found him and dragged him back toward the tavern.

Inside the World Seed, Li Mo practiced a powerful hammer technique and trained Jiang Chulong before tending to Xu Yi, whose escape could raise the bounty on him tenfold. An investment reward customized a swimsuit to Ying Bing’s measurements, leaving Li Mo with a nosebleed when he saw its imagined showcase.

• Li Mo tried the first form of the Heaven-Overturning Earth-Covering Human Killing Hammer in the World Seed, but its force collapsed before the blow landed.
• Jiang Chulong arrived late after finding Xu Yi and a furnace lid, so Li Mo had her fight increasingly strong straw men instead of giving her a lesson.
• Li Mo bandaged Xu Yi and used the Heavenly Mandate Divine Eye to learn that Xu Yi had secretly escaped, risking a tenfold increase in the bounty on Li Mo.
• Li Mo received the Cool Summer Black Temptation swimsuit as an investment return, and the system customized it to Ying Bing’s measurements.
• Li Mo imagined Ying Bing modeling the swimsuit and got a nosebleed; Ying Bing turned and asked if he had been beaten up.

Li Mo and Ying Bing spent the night practicing together, then learned that a crowd had come to visit Li Mo after his Hidden Dragon Ranking rise. Sun Gui, the richest man and head shopkeeper of Hengtong Trading Firm, arrived to propose marriage to Li Mo on behalf of his daughter, just as Ying Bing entered the hall.

• Li Mo and Ying Bing practiced through the night, while both hesitated over the massage chair and their growing awareness of each other's feelings.
• Tang Xiaobao told Li Mo that many visitors were waiting downstairs, and Li Mo asked him to summon the Clear Abyss Sect elders and Master.
• Li Mo went downstairs with the elders, leaving Ying Bing behind; she noticed that the chair she had been sitting on was warm and recalled their earlier sword practice.
• Sun Gui introduced himself as head shopkeeper of Hengtong Trading Firm and said his daughter admired Li Mo and had been pleading to meet him.
• Sun Gui unveiled chests of jewels and treasures and asked whether Li Mo was betrothed, as Ying Bing entered the hall and narrowed her eyes.

Sun Gui tried to impress Li Mo with wealth and marriage offers, but Li Mo rejected both and learned Sun Gui had brought another gift. The chest exploded and plunged the restaurant into an Inner Scene darkness associated with the Evil Wisdom King’s disciple, Peng Keshan.

• Sun Gui presented gifts worth a medium-sized sect’s fortune, but Li Mo calmly refused them and asked whether the trading firm had divine weapons, divine arts, or rare pills.
• Sun Gui learned that Li Mo had bought the restaurant from Shopkeeper Zhang for a chest of banknotes and tried to arrange marriages between Li Mo and his three daughters.
• Li Mo refused Sun Gui’s marriage proposals and asked him to take the gifts back, while Ying Bing’s arrival made Sun Gui visibly uneasy.
• Sun Gui brought out a luxurious chest as another gift, but it suddenly burst open and unleashed a pitch-black Inner Scene field.
• The group recognized the darkness as Changing Heaven and Swapping Sun, the Evil Wisdom King’s signature martial art, and identified its likely source as Peng Keshan.

Li Mo and his companions survived an ambush by Drizzle Pavilion assassins, then discussed how to escape the bounty and the Pavilion's pursuit. Li Mo proposed hiring Drizzle Pavilion assassins to protect him, turning the Pavilion's greed against itself.

• Peng Keshan led Drizzle Pavilion assassins in an attack on Li Mo, but Shang Wu defeated the hidden Inner Scene assassin and the group subdued the attackers.
• Shang Wu killed Peng Keshan, while Sun Gui denied involvement and offered compensation and help to Clear Abyss Sect.
• Li Mo explained that Drizzle Pavilion would keep pursuing him because he had been branded a traitor and a bounty remained on his head.
• Ying Bing suggested reaching the Seventh Realm as a way to survive Drizzle Pavilion's pursuit.
• Li Mo proposed hiring Drizzle Pavilion assassins to protect him, reasoning that competing protection and assassination bounties could turn the assassins against one another.
• Xue Jing and Qian Bufan realized that Li Mo's plan might work under Drizzle Pavilion's rules.

Li Mo, Ying Bing, and Xu Yi disguised themselves and entered Listen to the Wind Pavilion to investigate the bounty on Li Mo. Li Mo revealed his identity to the assembled assassins, drawing their attention.

• Li Mo freed Xu Yi, accepted his explanation, and asked him to lead them to Black Pavilion.
• Li Mo, Ying Bing, and the Clear Abyss Sect group put on disguises before splitting up on Baili Street.
• Li Mo, Ying Bing, and Xu Yi entered Listen to the Wind Pavilion and learned that its rules allowed multiple assassins to take the same mission.
• Li Mo saw the bounty on his head and heard assassins discuss taking the contract despite his powerful protectors.
• Li Mo removed the Formless Glazed Veil and announced to the Pavilion that he was Li Mo.

Li Mo went to Drizzle Pavilion’s Black Pavilion and placed a huge bounty on anyone who accepted the bounty to kill him. The order drew a crowd of assassins, many of whom signed on, leaving Li Mo surrounded by prospective protectors.

• Li Mo entered the Black Pavilion and argued that, as a target with a bounty on his head, he could hire Drizzle Pavilion to target those who accepted it.
• Li Mo deposited a mountain of gold, thirty chests of rare treasures, and one hundred Profound Crystals, making his order the top bounty at the Yun Province branch.
• Shang Wu took the order and revealed that she was in the Inner Scene Realm, while Qian Bufan also joined in.
• A cold female assassin moved to Li Mo’s side to protect him, and Li Mo rewarded her with several Profound Crystals.
• More assassins accepted the order, crowding the counter as they set aside their fear of the Saintess.

Li Mo’s bounty caused turmoil within Drizzle Pavilion, while Yin Mianmian decided to disguise herself and act against him in person. Back at Fish-Dragon Lake, Li Mo proposed a Best Actor awards ceremony to reward his allies, leaving Ying Bing quietly interested in the Best Actress award.

• A black-robed Ghost Eagle killed a poisoned assassin and warned Painted Skin that Yun Province would not submit to Yin Mianmian’s authority.
• Yin Mianmian learned the Yun Province Branch Master was purging her people and decided to disguise herself and go after Li Mo personally.
• Li Mo and Jiang Chulong walked through the increasingly busy Fish-Dragon Street, where his allies’ presence had improved public order.
• At the restaurant, Li Mo proposed a dinner gathering to recognize his allies’ performances at the Black Pavilion.
• Li Mo announced the Clear Abyss Sect’s first Golden Statue Award ceremony, and Ying Bing quietly reacted to the Best Actress award.

Li Mo hosted Clear Abyss Sect’s first Best Actor Golden Statue Award ceremony and handed out prizes for performances at the Black Pavilion. Ying Bing won Best Actress and, after receiving her trophy, chose to hold the Big-Headed Doll beside Li Mo instead.

• Li Mo persuaded everyone to join the awards ceremony by announcing prizes, and the group found tasks to help prepare it.
• Li Mo awarded himself Best Actor as the ceremony’s sole sponsor, while Elder Qian and Xue Jing had each claimed the title for themselves.
• The group handed out awards including Best Supporting Role to Elder Qian and Best Cinematography to Ouyang.
• Li Mo named Ying Bing Best Actress, while Shang Wu protested that her performance deserved the award and accepted a Best Participation Award instead.
• Ying Bing received the golden trophy, then picked up the Big-Headed Doll beside Li Mo and said she liked it more.